Imperial Academy of Arts

Vasily Polenov was a tireless traveller, for whom France - and its capital city in particular - would prove the destination closest to his heart: he wrote in a letter of the attractions of “dear jolly Paris and the merry French”. He visited Paris for the first time as a young man in 1867, while his final stay there was in 1911, by which time he had long earned acclaim as an artist. He lived in Paris for three years from 1872 to 1876, as the recipient of a scholarship from the Academy of Fine Arts, and returned there for particular artistic events, such as the 1889 World Fair and the Salon exhibitions of 1895.

Episodes from the history of the Academy of Arts over 260 years

Peter the Great’s edict ordering to establish an “Academy of Fine Arts and Sciences" was issued on December 22 1724; it stated that “said Academy should see to it that fine arts and sciences become better." However, the Academy was mostly focused on academic endeavours, so much so that during the reign of Empress Elizabeth, on November 6 1757, the Senate issued a directive to create an autonomous entity, an Academy of Arts, initially established under the auspices of Moscow University: “To establish an Academy of Arts in St. Petersburg, and as for its organizational structure, the Lieutenant General and Moscow University curator Shuvalov is expected to submit to the Senate a detailed proposal and staffing chart, and<...> in response to the above-mentioned requests..> for the upkeep of teachers and students at said institution, and for meeting other needs thereof<...> appropriate from the Treasury 6,000 rubles<...> now<...> and hereafter<...>"